Prolonged trials with little or
no relief have a way of eroding our confidence that God sees and hears, often
generating fears of abandonment.
It is enlightening to see in
this verse how the Psalmist David chooses in the face of his temporal
afflictions and fears, to focus upon the eternal truths of God’s purposes and
love.
“But ONE THING I DO forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I PRESS ON TOWARD the goal for the prize of THE UPWARD CALL OF GOD in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 ESV In our relationship with God, He is always calling us higher in His purposes, where we discover our …
Years ago I was invited to a meeting with a couple of Christian leaders in our city with the purpose of exploring a cooperative ministry effort. I knew each of the men and was familiar with the intensity and dedication with which each led their well established and successful ministries. As I was making the thirty minute drive across town on the freeway I decided to take the time to pray for the meeting. Almost immediately I heard these words, whispered by the Holy Spirit “Stay in your lane!” At that moment traffic was fairly heavy on the four lane stretch of road that I was on and my first impulse was to warily check the lanes on either side of me.
Assured that everything was alright, I figured I would stay in the lane in which I was driving until I needed to exit and turned my attention to what the Lord really intended with the words “stay in your lane.” I knew it was a word of wisdom for me as it related to the meeting. The lane I was being warned to stay in was my lane and focus of ministry. God was reminding me of the importance of fixing my heart clearly on His calling and purpose for my life, and not being drawn or forced out of that lane into the lane of another. Having this quickened in my spirit brought a sense of peace with the realization that there was sure to be pressure in the meeting to change ministry lanes.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 1:3
Yesterday I had my second “eyes to thighs” scan in follow-up to my radioactive iodine therapy last weekend. It was scheduled to provide a “benchmark” for any future scans.
I went into this scan with some trepidation because of what happened on my first scan. But at the same time, because of the valuable faith principle I had relearned, I relished a chance to do it again. My hope was to sail through this scan with flying colors while resting in God’s love.
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:19-20 (NIV) If you stop and think about it, this …
